UK time trial round up: Holton starts season with record

Preston time trial ace Mark Holton sliced ten seconds off the course record in the Circuit of Pendle 28-mile hilly, promoted by North Lancashire Road Club near Whalley on Sunday.

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Holton clocked 1:01:38 to win the event, and take ten seconds off Gethin Butler’s 1996 record. Butler had held the record since 1993, but his 17-year stand as course record holder was finally broken on a cold but sunny Sunday.

“It’s great to get the record,” said 31-year-old Holton. “I didn’t know whether I was going well because I couldn’t feel a thing it was so cold. It was barely above freezing so I just went as hard as I could.

“It’s a great event and it’s on local roads for me, so I enjoy it. The surface is a bit rough, but it’s the same all over at the moment.”

Last year’s winner Paul Shallicker had to settle for fifth this time, while second was Ellis Briggs RT rider Stephen Henson with 1:06:41, while veteran Alf Hilton was third, the Congleton CC rider clocking 1:07:00.

The promoting North Lancashire Road Club took the team prize with Ian Cox, Duncan Park and Rob Dickinson teaming up to beat Cover Your Car.co.uk by around three minutes.

Sybrandy for three

Notching up his fourth victory of the season, Sigma Sport Racing Team’s flying Dutchman Wouter Sybrandy secured victory in the East Surrey Hardriders time trial on Sunday.

The 24-year-old who lives in Uxbridge returned to Surrey to clinch his latest win, having won the Kingston Wheelers 14-mile event last month on nearby roads as well as both stages of the GS Stella weekend at the start of February.

In all those victories he pushed In Gear-Quickvit RT’s Pete Tadros into second spot, and Tadros had to settle for the runner-up spot once again in Sunday’s event, which covered a 29.9-mile course near Reigate and was a District Round of the Rudy Project Time Trial Series.

Pre-race favourite Sybrandy clocked 1:07:44 to take victory by around a minute and a half on a bright but cold day, and despite ice on small areas of the course he flew round in a time which was just 19 seconds slower than the course record, set by Matt Bottrill in 2008.

East Grinstead CC’s Steve Dennis was fastest of the veterans in third spot with 1:09:42, but top veteran on target time was VC Meudon’s John Woodburn, who had a plus of 11:00 with his actual time of 1:24:30.

Despite not having one rider in the top ten, Kingston Wheelers won the team prize with consistent performances from Phil Ember, Stephen Irwin and Ben Elliott, whose combined time of 3:59:30 was just one minute quicker than Sydenham Wheelers, who had to be content with the veterans’ team prize.

In the women’s field, it was London Dynamo’s Rebecca Slack, whose 1:19:11 gave her a near two minute winning margin over Trudi Sammons (Reading CC). In doing so, Slack broke the women’s course record, as well as finishing 6th in the vets category.

A cold morning perhaps contributed to 15 non-starters with defending champion Richard Prebble the most notable of the absentees, through illness.

Sturman dominates Border City Wheelers 32

Jon Sturman (Activ Cycles-Fentimans RT) justified his position as pre-race favourite when he won the Border City Wheelers’ 32-mile hilly time trial in Cumbria by almost seven minutes from his nearest rival.

The 40-year-old Carlisle rider clocked 1:20:54 over the three-lap course at Cumdivock to comfortably win ahead of second-placed Neil Payton (Team Swift) while the gap to third spot was much smaller, with North East visitor Paul Stubbs (Ferryhill Wheelers) just 12 seconds slower.

Griffiths wins Wrekinsport 18 hilly

Paramount CRT rider Dave Griffiths returned to the top step of the podium in the Wrekinsport CC hilly 18-mile time trial in Shropshire on Saturday.

The 33-year-old clocked 41:26 to win by nine seconds from Zenith CC’s James Perkins, while 2009 winner Andy Bason (TT-Weekly.com) had to settle for third spot this time, 15 seconds behind Griffiths.

The winner in 2008, Griffiths was pushed out to third last year with Bason winning in an impressive time of 41:06, but the Paramount CRT rider reclaimed top spot with a time which was 42 seconds quicker than his winning time from two years ago.

Baxter beats Graves in Stockton 10

Simon Baxter clocked an impressive 20:39 to take victory in the Stockton Wheelers 10-mile time trial on Saturday, and helped Adept Precision RT take the team prize to boot.

Baxter’s time was good enough to hold off talented triathlete Philip Graves (Clifton CC) by just five seconds, while fellow Adept rider Shaun Tyson completed the podium with 21:51.

They were joined in the winning team by Martin Gibson who clocked 22:54 to place just outside the top ten.

Coleman and Dalton 1-2 in Scunthorpe 10

Cherry Valley Racing Team colleagues James Coleman and Ian Dalton secured a one-two for the team in the Scunthorpe Road Club 10-mile event at Kirton in Lindsey, Lincolnshire, on Saturday.

Coleman clocked 21:45 to win by 26 seconds from last man off Dalton, while Lindsey Roads CC’s Stuart Wells completed the podium with 22:31.

The course record was never in danger on a breezy day, with an easterly wind feeling like a headwind on the way out as well as the way back.